Sky-Watcher AZ114 User Manual

AZ GOTO TELESCOPES

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GT020609V3-03.05

TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY - GT MOUNTS

TRIPOD SET UP

Fig.1

ADJUSTING TRIPOD LEGS (Fig.1)

1)

Slowly loosen the height adjustment clamp and gently pull out the lower
section of each tripod leg. Tighten the clamps to hold the legs in place.

2)

Spread the tripod legs apart to stand the tripod upright.

3)

Adjust the height of each tripod leg until the tripod head is properly leveled.
Note that the tripod legs may not be at same length when the mount is level.

Fig.2

ATTACHING THE TRIANGLE
ACCESSORY TRAY (Fig. 2)

1)

Place the accessory tray on top of
the bracket, and secure with the
locking knob from underneath.

ATTACHING THE QUICK-RELEASE ACCESSORY TRAY (Fig. 3)

1)

Hold the accessory tray directly above the bracket. Rotate the tray until the
shape of the hole matches the locking mechanism in the center of the bracket.
Place the tray on top of the bracket and rotate to lock the tray in place.

TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY

Fig.3

ATTACHING THE MOUNT TO THE TRIPOD (Fig.4)

Place the single arm mount into the tripod head.

Fig.4

1)
Push the large cup underneath the tripod head upward and

2)
turn counter-clock wise to secure the mount to the tripod.

ATTACHING THE TELESCOPE TUBE TO THE MOUNT (Fig.5)

The dovetail type

1)

Loosen the black screw on the top of the mount until it is not
protruding from the dovetail accepter.

2)

Find the approximate balance point on the telescope tube.

3)

Slide in the telescope tube until the balance point of the telescope falls
in the center of the mount head. Tighten the screw until the dovetail
bar on the telescope tube is securely fastened on the mount.

The clamp type

1)

Remove the black screw on the top of the cradle ring and
place it at a safe place for later use.

2)

Carefully open the cradle ring just enough so the telescope
tube can be slided in.

3)

Slide in the telescope tube. Close the cradle ring and insert the
black screw from the opposite side of the arm as shown in
Fig.4. Tighten the screw until the telescope tube is securely
fastened inside the cradle ring.

(Diagram applicable to
all telescope designs.)

Fig.5

(Diagram applicable to all
telescope designs.)

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TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY - MULTIFUNCTION MOUNTS

TRIPOD & MOUNT SET UP

Fig.6

Fig.7

TRIPOD SET UP

Remove the tripod from the box and spread the

1.
legs apart until fully extended.

Adjust the desired height of the tripod before

2.
attaching the fork arm and your optical tube.
Minor adjustments can be made later. Loosen the
locking mechanisms on each leg and slide the
legs to the desired height and then retighten them.

MOUNT SET UP

Next you will attach your Multi-function mount to

1.
the tripod. Locate the 3/8" threaded bolt in the top

of the tripod platform. Then, find the mating 3/8"
threaded hole underneath the Fork Arm Base.
Thread the 3/8" bolt of the tripod platform into the
3/8" threaded hole in the fork arm base until it is
good and tight (Fig.6).

Locate the 1/4x20 Mounting Platform. Slide it down

2.
the slot on the Fork Arm as in dicated in Fig.7.

Secure by tightening the thumb screws.

TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY

ATTACHING THE TELESCOPE TUBE TO THE MOUNT

If you are using the telescope for tracking astronomical objects,

1.
attach the optical tube to the Mounting Platform so that the Fork
Arm is located on the right hand side (Fig.8). If the telescope is
installed incorrectly you will not be able to use the latitude scale
on the top of the Fork Arm. Thread the 1/4x20 Mounting Screw
into the 1/4x20 tripod adapter of the optical tube and make sure it
is tight. Do not overtighten the screw.

Telescopes with a dovetail bar attached can be installed
directly onto the Multi-function mount without using the
Mounting Platform.

ATTACHING A CAMERA TO THE MOUNT

For general terrestrial use, the camera can be secured on

1.
the Mounting Platform any way you wish. Thread the 1/4x20
Mounting Screw into the camera and make sure it is tight. Do
not overtighten the screw.

Do NOT overtighten the 1/4x20 Mounting Screw or it may



cause damage to the screw.

Fig.8



You must be careful not to use an optical tube that is too
heavy or too big as the motor assembly will not be able to
operate properly and you may damage the mount.

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sing the Red Dot Finder

U

The Red Dot Finder is a zero magnification pointing tool that uses
a coated glass window to superimpose the image of a small red
dot onto the night sky. The Red Dot Finder is equipped with a
variable brightness control, azimuth adjustment control, and
altitude adjustment control (Fig.a). The Red Dot Finder is
powered by a 3-volt lithium battery located underneath at the
front. To use the Finder, simply look through the sight tube and
move your telescope until the red dot merges with the object.
Make sure to keep both eyes open when sighting.

Aligning the Red Dot Finder

Like all finderscopes, the Red Dot Finder must be properly
aligned with the main telescope before use. This is a simple
process using the azimuth and altitude control knobs.

1.

Open the battery cover by pulling it down (you can gently pry at
the 2 small slots) and remove the plastic shipping cover over
the battery (Fig.b).

2.

Turn on the Red Dot Finder by rotating the variable brightness
control clockwise until you hear a "click". Continue rotating the
control knob to increase the brightness level.
Insert a low power eyepiece into the telescope's focuser.

3.

Locate a bright object and position the telescope so that the
object is in the centre of the field of view.
With both eyes open, look through the sight tube at the object.

4.

If the red dot overlaps the object, your Red Dot Finder is
perfectly aligned. If not, turn its azimuth and altitude adjustment
controls until the red dot is merged with the object.

Fig.a

ON/OFF
Brightness
Control

Altitude
Adjustment
Control

Fig.b

Fig.c

Azimuth
adjustment
control

Sight Tube

Battery cover

Plastic
shipping
cover

ocusing

F

Slowly turn the focus knobs (Fig.c), one way or the other, until the
image in the eyepiece is sharp. The image usually has to be finely
refocused over time, due to small variations caused by
temperature changes, flexures, etc. This often happens with short
focal ratio telescopes, particularly when they haven't yet reached
outside temperature. Refocusing is almost always necessary
when you change an eyepiece or add or remove a Barlow lens.

alculating the m

C

The magnification produced by a telescope is determined by the focal length of the eyepiece that is used with it.
To determine a magnification for your telescope, divide its focal length by the focal length of the eyepieces you
are going to use. For example, a 10mm focal length eyepiece will give 80X magnification with an 800mm focal
length telescope.

magnification =

When you are looking at astronomical objects, you are looking through a column of air that reaches to the edge of
space and that column seldom stays still. Similarly, when viewing over land you are often looking through heat
waves radiating from the ground, house, buildings, etc. Your telescope may be able to give very high magnification
but what you end up magnifying is all the turbulence between the telescope and the subject. A good rule of thumb
is that the usable magnification of a telescope is about 2X per mm of aperture under good conditions.

agnication (power)

Focal length of the telescope

Focal length of the eyepiece

800mm

=

10mm

= 80X

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ntroduction to the SynScan

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TM

AZ

AZ

The SynScanTM AZ is a precision-engineered
instrument that will allow you to easily find and enjoy
viewing night sky treasures, such as planets,
nebulea, star clusters, galaxies and much more. The
hand control allows you to point your telescope at a
specific object or even tour the skies at the touch of
a button. The user friendly menu system allows
automatic slewing to over 42,900 objects. Even an
inexperienced astronomer can master its variety of
features in a few observing sessions. Below is a brief
description of the individual components of the
SynScanTM AZ hand controller.

TM

Z

owering the SynScan

P

The SynScan

TM

AZ should be powered by 11-15V DC

A

power supply (tip-positive) capable of producing
continuous current of minimum 1 amps. Correctly plug
the power cord into the 12V DC outlet on the the
mount (See Fig.d-1 and d-2 for Multi-function
telescopes and Fig.e-1 and e-2 for AutoTracking
telescopes). For Multi-function telescopes, flip the
Power Switch to the "on" position to turn on the power.

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Multi-Function Mount

SNAP

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DC12V

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Fig.d-2

AUX

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ON/OFF

power supply

power switch

AutoTracking Mount

SETUP

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TM

AZ Hand Control

ynScan

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The SynScanTM AZ hand control cable has a RJ-45 with
8 connecting pins on one end and a RJ-12 with 6
connecting pins on the other end. Plug the RJ-45 end
into the hand control (Fig.c) and the other end into the
outlet on the mount (Fig.b). On the bottom of the hand
control, the middle port is used for RS-232
communications between the SynScan

TM

AZ and a
computer or other devices. (See “Linking with a
Computer” for details.) The DC power port allows
independent use of the SynScanTM AZ hand control for
users who wish to browse the database or update the
firmware without connecting to the telescope (Fig.f).

The DC power port on the hand control is for
hand control stand-alone applications only.
For telescope applicaions, use the 12V DC
outlet on the mount.

Fig.e-2

Fig.f

power supply

RJ-45

RJ-12 DC power port

To connect the SynScanTM AZ to a PC, use
only the RS-232 cable provided with the
mount.

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